Numerous medical devices have been developed and utilized for providing various therapies to patients, including systems for the management of pain through neurostimulation or localized drug delivery. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,938,690, 6,027,456, and 6,609,031, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference, show neurostimulation systems in which a pulse generator and electrical lead are implanted in a patient to provide pain management through controlled electro stimulation. As another example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,620,151, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, shows a localized drug delivery system in which a drug pump and catheter are implanted in a patient to provide pain management through controlled delivery of an infusate to selected tissue. Such systems may be employed for purposes other than pain management, such as to provide continuous controlled delivery of an agent such as insulin for diabetes or baclofen for spasticity.
The foregoing implanted medial devices may provide a therapy regimen according to control parameters configured by a physician, nurse, or other clinician (referred to herein collectively as clinicians). For example, a clinician may configure a stimulation program setting forth electronic pulse frequency, amplitude, and electrode polarity for delivering a prescribed therapy using an implantable neurostimulation pulse generator. Similarly, a clinician may configure an infusate flow rate, flow pattern, and bolus size, lockout, and limit for delivering a prescribed therapy using an implantable drug pump. One or more of the foregoing control parameters may be input into a control system of the medical device in order to implement the prescribed therapy. Control parameters for implementing the foregoing may be input into a clinician programmer and downloaded to the patient's medical device.
Typically the clinician would record such control parameters and other patient relevant information, e.g., the type and concentration of infusate used, negative and/or positive responses to various therapies, maximum electronic pulse stimulation amplitudes, etcetera, in the patient's chart for later reference. Some medical device programmers may facilitate the clinician's updating a patient chart by providing a hardcopy output of the current control parameter settings. Such a hardcopy report may be affixed to the patient's chart along with other relevant information, such as handwritten notations, medical transcripts, lab results, x-ray images, etcetera, to provide a relatively complete record of the patient's therapy for later reference when monitoring, adjusting, or changing the therapy regimen. Additionally, some device programmers may retain a copy of the last set of control parameters (currently downloaded control parameters) associated with a patient device programmed using that device programmer.
Periodically, such as in response to patient feedback, in response to patient events, throughout the course of a trial period, etcetera, the clinician may adjust one or more of the foregoing control parameters. Accordingly, the clinician may review the patient's chart for information with respect to the current control parameter settings, and perhaps any previously implemented control parameter settings. The clinician may then adjust the medical device control parameters using a clinician programmer to download new control parameters to the patient's medical device in order to provide a revised therapy, and again update the patient's chart for later reference.
The above described clinician review and updating of patient chart information is often time consuming and inconvenient. For example, it may be difficult for a clinician to efficiently glean information regarding a series of control parameter settings and their therapeutic effects as reported by the patient in order to determine a next control parameter set to implement. Further complicating the clinician's obtaining the needed information from such charts is the fact that many such clinicians may be serving many patients relatively quickly throughout the day. Additionally, several different clinicians, such as those of a particular clinic, may consult with a patient over the course of the patient's therapy, resulting in useful information being stored in a currently unavailable location (e.g., a clinician programmer used by a different clinician) and/or variations in the particular information recorded in the chart and in the way the information is presented and formatted. For example, portions of a patient's data may be stored on each of several clinician programmers in a single clinic, or the clinic may be forced to implement a procedure wherein only a specific clinician programmer is used for a particular patient. A patient may travel or present him/herself at an emergency room where the patient's information may be unavailable.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for improved techniques for managing medical device historical data. Additionally, there is a need in the art for management of medical device historical data which efficiently presents such information in a manner easily assimilated by a particular individual having a need for the data. There is a further need in the art for medical device historical data to be readily and conveniently available when needed.